220 



Draining. 



Vol. VI. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Draining. 



Sir, — Desirous of understanding the cor- 

 relative brandies of farming, vvitiiout which 

 mere ploughing and sowing, and the applica- 

 tion of manure, whether calcareous or fer- 

 mented, or whether ploughed in or employed 

 as a top-dressing, would be fruitless; one of 

 these branches closely connected with, and, 

 in my view, the most important, being the 

 art of draining. Having recently, by fortui- 

 tous circumstances, been thrown upon a farm 

 that was proverbial in the neighbourhood as 

 having been worn out — but 1 am inclined, 

 however, to think it more from the effects of 

 water than from exhaustion by cropping, al- 

 tiiough the withering consequences of both 

 are to be seen — I examined the land and 

 moved on to it at midsummer, and in the au- 

 tumn and spring following found the land, 

 that is the principal part, completely flooded 

 with water, and where, in the summer, every 

 thing was thoroughly scorched and dry as 

 tinder, being covered for the most part with 

 sedffe and fog. 



The bearing of the valley in which the 

 land lies is nearly east and west, and the 

 hills on the north and south are pretty high, 

 to the north quite so. Being anxious to take 

 the most speedy and direct means for the re- 

 novation of the soil, and for its restoration to 

 its primitive state of fertility, although natu- 

 rally not very deep and fertile, yet capable 

 of sustaining good crops : and from the 

 many well-written essays on the subject of 

 " draining," which I have, from time to time, 

 read with close attention in " The Farmers' 

 Cabinet," and from what I had conceived to 

 be the philosophy of vegetation, I at once de- 

 termined, in my own mind, that draining was 

 the remedy to be applied, and thought it 

 would be as easy in practice as in theory, but 

 in that I was mistaken, for having no prac- 

 tical knowledge of the art, as I think it more 

 an art than a science, I had not proceeded far 

 before I was brought to a stand, as my prac- 

 tice did not seem to meet witli or correspond 

 to the theories I had seen laid down. I be- 

 gan to hesitate, and stopped that part of the 

 work, thinking it possible that as most of the 

 i^ccess in draining we have accounts of are 

 in England, that the same process might not 

 tend to the same result in this country, or 

 rather in this particular instance ; not that the 

 climate or soil could make a difference, but 

 the position in which the strata are found ly- 

 ing ; for I find in almost all cases where we 

 have accounts of draining, the strata are sta- 

 led as lying nearly in a horizontal position, 

 and by penetrating to the stratum of clay 

 with a drain, would of necessity meet the 

 water in its downward course, and cause it 



to flow into the diain; whereas, if the strata 

 of gravel and clay were found lying in a ver- 

 tical position, what would then be the conse- 

 quence ■? and that is the case in this instance 

 of mine. 



After digging the main drain down the de- 

 clivity, for the purpose of leading the cross 

 drains into it, I commenced a cross-cut above 

 the point where the water i.ssued, with a viev\r 

 of drawing the water from that point into the 

 drain, and thus passing it ofl"; but the effect 

 was, that although when I cut the stratum of 

 gravel, which I found to lie perpendicular, 

 some water flowed into the drain, sufficient 

 still sunk into the gravel to keep up a con- 

 stant flow at the point below, yet not in so 

 great a quantity. These are only what are 

 called winter springs, and are perfectly dry 

 in the summer. After that I turned my at- 

 tention to a piece of low land, completely 

 flooded the greater part of the year, and quite 

 quaggy, so that in walking over it one would 

 sink halt-leg deep in mud and water, the sur- 

 face being overgrown with rushes and coarse 

 water-grass, the name of which I cannot give 

 you for want of the knowledge which that in- 

 valuable paper of Dr. Darlington of West 

 Chester teaches, " p. 75, vol. 6, Cabinet," to- 

 gether with the aquatic alder which covered 

 the whole surface. There I have succeeded 

 better, for having made the main drain up to 

 a certain point, 1 then cut a cross-drain from 

 it at a right angle, having sufflcient fall to 

 give the water an easy and gradual descent 

 to the main drain, and by that operation, cut 

 all the springs which had before found vent 

 through the porous soil, being an alluvial de- 

 posite lying horizontally. In digging the 

 drains, but more particularly the cross-drain, 

 after going about two feet deep, we met with 

 a stratum of coarse gravel intermixed with 

 round stones, having the appearance of creek 

 sand, which, I doubt not, was originally the 

 surface, and where the water flowed for many 

 years, through which we found an innumera- 

 ble number of small pipes spouting up the 

 water as through a sieve, and flowing beauti- 

 fully into the drain. The alluvial soil, as 

 before stated, about two feet deep, has, with- 

 out question, been many centuries forming, 

 for I found some large trees on the flat, which 

 cannot, I think, be less than 500 years old, 



I did not penetrate the gravel to any con- 

 siderable depth, conceiving that the water, 

 having vent at that place, would cut off the 

 supply from the springs or reservoir, no injury 

 could be done below, and still designing to ex- 

 tend the main drain further up, and again 

 heading off the springs at a future day. 



Now, Mr. Editor, I may excite the risibles 

 of some of your readers by the remark, that 

 the same process might not produce the same 

 results in this country as in England : be it so : 



